FYI from BSF, 07.15.22
Summer Reading
With 27 months passed since the start of the pandemic, Boston Public Schools has more than $7,000 to spend on each one of its students from its federal stimulus dollars (commonly referred to as “ESSER”).
Updated state reports show this to be the norm across Massachusetts; good summary here.
School districts have the next 26 months (September 2024) to spend the remainder of their money. If the pace of spending does increase (for building improvements, hiring, etc.) across Massachusetts and Boston that will be a good thing. But it doesn’t capture the opportunity cost of not already spending this money.
A study from Tennessee shows evidence that literacy gaps reversed there during the pandemic. How? In part, a $300M investment by the state and local school districts in tutoring and evidence-based literacy instruction and training, resulting in increases from pre–pandemic levels.
Keep in mind that the BPS plan to spend federal stimulus funds is not intended to address the pandemic; in its creation and structure, it was designed to align with the strategic plan of now former Superintendent Cassellius.
There are two implications.
A deeper scan of the proposed investments show new staff positions. A quick search of the report’s appendix yields 25 finds of “FTE” (full-time employee) additions, in some cases 20 more staff members. Getting more adults into school buildings is a natural response to increased student need. But what positions are permanent? What happens when the money runs out in two years? Perhaps the expectation is that an increase from the city’s general fund or the Student Opportunity Act would cover those costs. But neither of those revenue sources are guaranteed, with a recession looming.
There is also a broader question around the direction of the district. When Superintendent Skipper starts this fall, she will clearly come with her own vision and preferences. What will she keep? What will she change? Boston School Committee has already voted to accept the final $400M in federal funds with very little actual encumbrances - four pages, two goals. This document, the actual vote, defines the contours of the federal spending, not the 60+ page report. If she chooses, Superintendent Skipper has almost sole discretion to redirect funds towards her first budget, to be proposed next year.
Spending federal dollars is not the only deadline BPS is dealing with. 10 of 24 targets from the agreement to avert receivership are due in exactly one month. Last night at Boston School Committee, Acting Superintendent Echelson offered the district’s plan (not online yet). There was also a lot of stuff about sports. Materials here.
In the summer of 2020, it was “hopscotch.” In the summer of 2021, it was air conditioning and ventilation. What are the plans for this fall? New COVID-19 variants are here and will be here this fall - what will our approach be?
With First Lady Dr. Jill Biden among headlining guests, the American Federation of Teachers convened for the first time in years, in Boston this week. Good timing: the Boston Teachers Union announced a tentative contract deal yesterday.
Even with federal dollars, Massachusetts rural schools need more, a new report asserts.
Has the pandemic shifted public attitudes on standardized testing? Great Schools will omit some testing from its site. The platform of Attorney General Maura Healey, the presumptive “education governor,” recognizes alternatives to standardized testing. And the state Board has yet to pass its update of 10th grade MCAS requirements.
Ignoring population (and child population) decline is becoming more and more difficult. Massachusetts had the fifth worst population decrease of any state last year.
Take a moment to read about Boston’s valedictorians, including a spotlight on Match’s top student. The most popular next stop for the group? Northeastern University.